Do you have any idea how excited I am to read a Charlie story? Well, if you don't, it is very, very excited. I love Charlie, and I can already tell I am going to love this story. So much of it is shrouded in mystery that I just want more and more [Which won't be too hard with the next chapters, will it? :P] and that mystery is very appropriate for a prologue. Everything about this chapter just screams at me that this is going to be a great story- the writing, the plot, the characters so far. You have done a brilliant job!

I really can't wait to read more, especially find out why the Death Eaters were visiting the village, and why they knew Romanian :P

Anyways, fabulous story, you've done an amazing job so far to draw me in as a reader!

Forum Name: Drecklin
House: Slytherin

Author's Response: Aww, thanks Drecklin. I'm glad you liked it. I've always had a bit of a thing for Charlie myself. It's always good to know he has other fans out there!

I really liked this chapter. It gave me a real feel of the place you were describing and the fear and danger surrounding it. You create the atmosphere in the story very well. The first glimpse of your characters was also promising. You wrote the scary action also very well. Action is something I struggle with myself as well as scaryness (or danger or whatever you could call this here).

I'm glad you're writing about Charlie. He's the Weasley I would pick myself any day. By the way, he seems to go through his wands fast as I think Ron had an old wand of his and now he needs a new one again. This chapter has a kind of suspense feeling over it that really makes me want to continue reading this story to see what happens next.

Author's Response: Aww, thanks AB. I actually haven't added anything new on this story for a while - aside from deleting a chapter and another random 2000+ words - but you're making me want to take a second look. I'm glad you're a Charlie fan too. I love him to bits. And I didn't even think about his issue with wands but you're totally right! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing.

Wow. What else do I say? This is a great start to a Dobby-Award-Winning Story…and I totally see why it is one of the Dobbys. You lay out a complex plot in a little under than 3000 words. The fact that you chose Charlie to write about intrigued me too, because not many people write about him.

The POV that was chosen was a really good choice…it adds to the suspense of it all, and I like that. You also make the characters extremely believable. The elderly woman was quite terrifying- actually…I don’t know if you’ve seen it or not, but she reminds me of that crazy lady on “Drag Me To Hell”. Of course, this lady seemed more terrified than anything else =]]. When she was all like, “Devil,” I gasped. But I do that a lot.

Another thing I like about this chapter is the scene in the beginning. You have a very distinct writing style, and you laid out the imagery perfectly. I could picture the dirt on the road as the Death Eaters made their way to the Drunken Lion. That, along with excellent dialogue, made me want to read more. You write action pretty well =]]

Even though this is AU, the Dark Art was a nice touch. It made me more familiar with your story, and because of this relation, I’m reading more.

My only CC is that you didn’t italicize your spells and had a few sentences that caused me trouble. Hence;

It was after midnight when the three hooded men appeared suddenly on the small plateau overlooking the village.
It was a little overwhelming for me to read, but besides this, I’m in love with this story! On to the second chapter!

Constants.

Author's Response: Thanks, brain. I really appreciate this great review, particularly the CC. I'll have to look into the matter with the spells and at some of my wordier sentences. I can be a bit long-winded at times. I've never seen the movie you referenced but I'm glad that character stood out. I wanted to make sure the villagers weren't all faceless masses. Thank you again for the R&R.

This was an extremely interesting start to a story. Your description was amazing, your characters highly interesting and your plot... just wow. It was a huge start to a story and I really want to get to know the characters more. The way you left the reader hanging with all these questions... My head is spinning. And Charlie, so far, is great.

Author's Response: I do love Charlie :)

Thank you for the review, a day late or not. I'm still in shock at how this whole surprise was planned. Thank you for taking the time to participate. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the chapter.

OOOo! I am adding this to my favorites! I’ve never read a Charlie romance before, so I am very excited to read the rest. I love stories that have action to them, and this definitely qualifies. It was also well written and I admire the effort you put into looking up at least some Romanian and researching the country. But…HAPPY HPFFSAD! In order to show my appreciation for all the work you do here at HPFF (including validating a few of my own fics!) I thought I’d leave you a review—because who doesn’t love a review! Anyway, Thanks again, hope your day goes wonderfully, and, like I said, can’t wait to read the rest!

Author's Response: Thank you, Fanny. It's true, reviews are wonderful. Thanks for participating in this staff surprise. HPFF has the best members ever!

Hey there, I’m here to spread the love for HPFFSAD,
First off, congrats on winning a Dobby!

I really like how you begin the chapter. It has me wondering who these men are and what they’re up to. I’m wondering, are they the good guys, are they bad ones? And that is what keeps me reading.

Your desrcibtion of the place and of the atmosphere is very well done and I especially enjoyed the one of the people in the tavern. It’s very realistic and the picture you created is that which everyone, who’s never been to Eastern Europe and especially Romania, needs to imagine what it’s like there. So, don’t worry about misinterpreting things. I’m currently living in a small village in Hungary and though I find it very traditional at times and could see this village in your description, I’m told that it’s even more traditional in Romania.

The desription of the attack was amazing. There is no other way of putting it. I had goosebumps on my arms all the way through and when Charlie saw the Dark Mark, wow you’ve got no idea of how impressive that scene was.

I can already see now that your writing is definitely Dobby worthy, I’m going to favourite this right away, and I can’t wait to see how this continues.

Antje

Author's Response: Thank you so much for the review and participating in HPFFSAD. I was very touched by the whole endeavor. I'm glad the descriptions of the village and the attack read alright. It's particularly nice to hear that from someone a lot closer to that region of the world than I am.

I like when there's action at the beginning of stories, even though Ioften find it hard to follow because of my horrible concentration. Still, the writing style felt smooth and was easy to read. It really made me wonder and want to find out what's going on and that's always good on the writer's part.

Basically what drew me in was that it's a story that has Charlie. i was looking around for him. :) The characters, along with Charlie, didn't really leave an imprint on me yet, but I'm sure that'll change once the pace after this action-filled chapter will slow down. I really can't wait to read more. :)

Author's Response: Thank you for the review. It's always good to know there are more Charlie fans out there. I hope that the characters over the course of the story become much more three dimensional. This is really one of the few action sequences in the whole story, so hopefully there will be plenty of chances to really get to know Charlie and the others. Thank you again for reading and reviewing :)

This chapter was mesmerizing. I really like your description, especially of the little village, which seemed quaint and peaceful and quiet before the image of the entire place going up in flames. The panic of the villagers was realistic and palpable, and I could see it playing out in front of my eyes like a movie scene.

I don't know a lot about Romania myself, but going by what I know from conversations I've had with a few friends from Romania, your descriptions seem accurate.

I'm really excited to read the story. I have never read one about Charlie at all, and it seems there aren't many out there.

Awesome prologue! 10/10

Author's Response: Thank you so much. I'm glad the descriptions fit with what you've heard too. It all seemed real in my head and it's good to know it doesn't seem way off to others. And I haven't seen a lot of Charlie stories out there either, so I figured I might as well put one up! Thank you again for the R and R. Hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

Well, this certainly has me curious! I love Charlie and stories about him, and yours is very well written so far - thank goodness you have an excellent grasp of spelling and grammar, and your style is a pleasure to read. I can't wait to see where this goes, but I'm terrible at keeping track of updated stories so sorry if it takes me a while to find new chapters! I'd love to see more soon. *hint hint* :D

Author's Response: Thanks so much for reviewing! I'm a bit of a Charlie nut myself. He'll disappear for awhile but be back with a bang (and to stay) by chapter 5. I'm hoping to have the next chapter up by the end of the week (it's a long one, at least for me!). Thanks again so much for reading and reviewing :)

This really grabbed my interest - cool setting, nice balance of dialogue and description, and a mystery. It seemed like the hooded men want to capture the wizards, but maybe you just haven't gotten that far yet. I can't wait to see where you take the story.

Author's Response: Thanks so much for reading. The motives of the attack will be revealed throughout the story. Already half done with chapter 1; hope you'll take a look when it's up. Thanks again for the R&R :)